A boy was arrested for possession of an imitation firearm after police were called to The Brewery shopping centre in Waterloo Road at 1.35pm on Sunday, January 6, following reports of young people seen with firearms.

In the interests of public safety in the busy area, armed police were able to trace, detain and search the young people after acting on a description they received about those involved.

The Met’s specialist firearms command tweeted that the imitation handgun was first pointed at shops in Ilford and was then taken on a train to Romford.

The boy has since been released with no further action. No one else has been arrested.

Insp Barrie Beyler from the East Area Command Unit, said: “We acted quickly based on information provided to police by multiple sources reporting that a group of youths were behaving suspiciously and were in possession of a firearm in a busy and crowded area.

“All calls related to firearm reports have clear set procedures designed to minimise risk to the public.

“Armed police acted decisively in the best interests of public safety. Thankfully no live firearm was found.

“Naturally the youths stopped were very startled by the armed stop but we will always act on information received about firearms or indeed any other weapons as part of our job to keep the public safe.

“Information like this is vital for us to respond quickly and effectively to protect communities.”